An examination of the passages in Ezekiel related to the 'defilement' and 'desecration' of the Temple through the spectrum of the Priestly Sources clearly shows a distinction between the two concepts and reveals Ezekiel’s precise and deliberate usage of these terms. Although they both relate to idolatrous practices, defilement of the Temple in Ezekiel follows the categories of the Priestly Sources, and thus results primarily from corpse impurity and idol worship. With regard to the Temple’s desecration, Ezekiel introduces the aspect of the intense involvement of foreigners, which he viewed as the desecrating agents of his day.

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who enters the â€œsanctified areaâ€ (39) or goes to offer a sacrifice on the outer
altar (40) desecrates the temenos.
Leviticus 22 deals with the injunction forbidding the priests to eat the
sacred donations of the Israelites when they or the foods are ritually impure.
Verse 9 concludes this discussion by admonishing, â€œThey shall heed my
prohibition lest they bear sin by it and die thereby when they desecrate it
(whlljy yk); I am YHWH who sanctifies them.â€ It is difficult to determine
whether the phrases â€œby itâ€ and â€œwhen they desecrate itâ€ refer to the sacred
donations or to the sanctuary. While from the context it might appear that the
verse speaks here of the holy things, it is possible that it is the sanctuary that is
desecrated through the consumption of sacred donations in a forbidden
state(41).
In Leviticus, then, the causes of desecration all relate to the disruption or
suspension of the priestsâ€™ ritual functions in the Temple. This concept of
â€œdesecrationâ€ differs significantly from Ezekielâ€™s usage of this term in
reference to the withdrawal of the Templeâ€™s sanctity in the wake of the sinful
acts committed in its precincts, usually in the presence and through the means
of foreigners.
V. Ezekielâ€™s Exegesis
For Ezekiel, defilement of the Temple is defined primarily in terms of two
of the causes mentioned in the Priestly Sources, namely, corpse impurity and
idolatry (42). The concept of defilement is grounded in very specific actions, as
delineated in the Priestly Sources, and this status cannot surface through any
other means. Ezekielâ€™s strict adherence to the Priestly Sourcesâ€™ definitions of
defilement may perhaps be attributed to his being a member of the priestly
caste in exile, which led him to insist upon the preservation of the
Pentateuchal classifications.
(39) MILGROM (ibid.) emphasizes the difference between the phrasing aby al tkrph la,
which he understands as referring to the sanctified area of the tabernacle, and tkwrpl tybm,
which refers to the Holy of Holies. In his view, it is to this latter area that a high priest with
a deformity is forbidden entry to perform routine activities such as the rites of the menorah
and the table. Any priest with a blemish can enter the sacred area for non-cultic purposes,
such as covering the sanctums in preparation for journey, or for their cleansing, and so on.
The permission granted to priests with deformities to consume consecrated food indicates
that they are not barred from contact with sacred things, but only from active participation
in the Temple cult.
(40) Joseph Bekhor Shor comments that this refers to the golden altar, but most
commentators understand it as referring to the outer altar. See MILGROM, Leviticus 17â€“22,
1830-1831.
(41) See, for example, Ibn Ezra, ad loc. According to this understanding, carelessness
with regard to the consumption of sancta in purity by the priests leads to sin, desecration of
the Temple, and death. If so, then this signifies the only instance in Scripture where the
concepts of defilement and desecration converge with respect to the sanctuary:
consumption of sacralized food in an impure state desecrates the sacred precinct. See also
MILGROM, Leviticus 17â€“22, 1859, where he suggests other interpretations of this verse.
(42) Our discussion of the terms â€œdefileâ€ and â€œdesecrateâ€ thus adds a new dimension to
Hurvitzâ€™s comprehensive study, which does not address these terms. See A. HURVITZ, A
Linguistic Study of the Relationship Between the Priestly Source and The Book of Ezekiel
(Paris 1982).